Tom Joseph - “Tin Roofs”

Photo: Florian Augustus Alexander

Innsbruck-based singer-songwriter Tom Joseph has just released one of the best breakup-inspired songs we’ve ever heard, a lo-fi indie folk number called “Tin Roofs.”

Joseph begins “Tin Roofs” like many other indie folksters, but beneath the wondrously finger-plucked acoustic guitar, there is a subtle, single-noted loop that sets it apart from the many others that populate our pile of submissions. This loop keeps time while simultaneously adding another layer of sonic interest and is definitely one of the things that kept us listening. And we’re so glad that we did, because once Joseph’s fantastic vocal comes in, the song takes us on quite the emotional journey.

As the song moves forward, more elements are utilized that add to our listening pleasure, such as an exquisite vocal harmony on the second verse. While more layers of guitar are not yet added, the existing playing becomes more focused and deliberate, slightly helping to fill the sonic space as it transitions into the second half of the song. Here, we are greeted with the sounds of a genre-appropriate electric guitar and some light percussive elements. Listeners will find the singing not quite as melancholic as it was at the beginning, as though the progression of the song illustrates Joesph’s process of healing– a timeline of his catharsis after finding love and losing it– he sounds much more confident.

But it is the last third of “Tin Roofs” where the listener can truly believe that Joseph has moved on and grown from his experience. His falsetto soars and the drums join in to elevate this last section as though it is a celebratory purging though songwriting– a sort of ‘eureka’ moment upon the realization that some love has to end, but a song will remain forever.

-TM